Some driveaway drivers want to see the country while they supplement their income and others are making a living transporting box trucks and vans, but all of them are driven by the ability to earn an income–and the bigger the better, they all say.
Driveaway is the delivery of box trucks. And box trucks range from mini vans used by Amazon, for example, to 26,000-pound Penske trucks, and all sizes in between. Since Pinnacle Transportation fully reimburses drivers for the cost of fuel, there is no impact on the drivers expenses based on what type of vehicle he is driving or the mileage the vehicle gets.It doesn’t matter to the driver if it is gasoline or diesel, or if the vehicle gets good mileage or not.What does matter? How do driveaway drivers make the most money?
What matters most?
There are many profitable techniques and some of them depend on geography, especially when traveling between drop off and pick up locations.Kris Heffner, Pinnacle Transport Group terminal manager in Pennsylvania, suggests an app called Wanderu to assist driver with the in between travel. Wanderu is a ground and air travel metasearch engine that operates throughout North America and Europe. It provides a one-stop search and booking platform for buses, trains and flights through its website and mobile app according to Wikipedia?I tell drivers to start there (with Wanderu) when planning, and to look at more than just point A to B, she said, adding there may be a cheaper way at the next closest city.Heffner added that Wanderu lists multiple local bus lines and trains on the app, so the driver can compare rates and destinations. The advantages are obvious as you plan where to board and disembark based on your next pickup location.Loyalty Programs
Ed Libera is a six-year veteran driver of Pinnacle’s driveaway division. He lives in Niles, Mi., and is a retired administrator from Lake Michigan College. His home terminal is the Bristol, In. terminal.“Pinnacle is the only company I’ve driven for, and I’m used to how the Bristol office is run,” he said, adding “They take good care of me.”In addition to the professional, friendly staff at Bristol, Libera says two other factors keep him glued to the driveaway lifestyle. “I just like going out on the road and I like being my own boss,” he explained, “I do things my way.”He emphasizes that his way is to enroll in loyalty programs. “Find good programs and stick to them. They will save you money,” he said. For example, he’s taking a box truck to San Jose, Ca. soon and he’s already purchased a return airline ticket with points.He used frequent flyer points to buy his ticket and it saved him $400 while getting him back home quickly. He also said he always asks about promotions. “I have enough promotion points with choicehotels.com that I can stay for free for a long time,” Libera explained. The Comfort Inn and Econo Lodge are two examples of choices that Choice Hotels offers.Plan your trip
Another popular strategy driveaway experts emphasize is planning your trip so that you are minimizing paying for transportation. Instead, you are getting paid to drive more by delivering box trucks as close as possible to where you can pick up another box truck.Other basic tips to making the most profit transporting box trucks include:- Packing food and drinks although what you bring needs to be easily disposable and not messy.
- Enrolling in loyalty programs that support cost-effective food purchases, travel and motel stays.
- Sleep in the truck when safe and practical. Some customers don’t allow sleeping in the trucks so consult your terminal prior to doing that.
- Get familiar with the public transportation systems in the towns you are delivering in.
- Bring a ‘jump’ pack when practical.
